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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 6:41 am
(This post was last modified: June 23, 2016 at 6:41 am by robvalue.)
That is a much better set of definitions!
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 6:54 am
I am an atheist. Sometimes though I will consider other possibilities. I just have thoughts.
What if the fundamentalists are right ? I might end up in heaven. Wearing a robe . Standing in a choir with Presbyterians singing "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" forever, and ever, and ever. Shit. Maybe the potlucks will be good. No booze though.
What if the Catholics are right? Might be some booze. I like wine. Don't want to end up a choir boy in that celestial band though.
What if the Hindu's are right ? Getting more than one shot at life might not be too bad. It could be really great or it could really suck.
Muslims ? 72 virgins. Give me a break. An eternity of serial monogamy is a far more tempting idea.
Regardless of my wandering thought process I remain a steadfast skeptic and atheist. I practice doubt. I think it is good to doubt even atheism once in awhile. That does not make me agnostic.
God thinks it's fun to confuse primates. Larsen's God!
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 6:57 am
Simply put, agnostic means, I'm not all knowing. So there might be some higher super intelligence running the show, remote as it may seem right now. It's also means that all the scripted gods are out of the window, since we know for certain that humanity isn't important enough to keep a higher being concerned.
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 6:57 am
(This post was last modified: June 23, 2016 at 6:57 am by robvalue.)
Well, a god who judges me harshly for using the brain he gave me isn't one I want to spend any time with anyway.
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 5:28 pm
T.H. Huxley introduced a definition of agnosticism in the 19th century. His agnosticism was that neither the existence nor non-existence of God could ultimately be known, and that positions on the topic were akin to groundless speculation. That's one take on the term. Another take is that given by Robvalue above, that agnosticism has to do only with knowledge and not belief. Both usages have historical and contemporary justifications, so neither is more right than the other. What's important is simply to be clear which usage one has in mind when someone else uses the term, and being open to both uses.
https://philosophynow.org/issues/99/Huxleys_Agnosticism
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 8:18 pm
I like the MW dictionary definition. I consider myself an agnostic atheist i.e. i have no belief in God, but that I think the Truth (as God is defined) is unknowable.
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 8:38 pm
(June 23, 2016 at 8:18 pm)dom.donald Wrote: i.e. i have no belief in God, but that I think the Truth (as God is defined) is unknowable.
Depends on the definition of god. I like to call it higher intelligence, which I can't rule out. The scripted humanocentric deities are out of the window for me. Based on what we know about our world and the universe.
But hey. Who knows, maybe there's the Q continuum somewhere out there.
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 23, 2016 at 11:24 pm
(This post was last modified: June 23, 2016 at 11:32 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
(June 23, 2016 at 8:38 pm)abaris Wrote: (June 23, 2016 at 8:18 pm)dom.donald Wrote: i.e. i have no belief in God, but that I think the Truth (as God is defined) is unknowable.
Depends on the definition of god. I like to call it higher intelligence, which I can't rule out. Making us gods to ants, and making smart people gods to dumb people, making 1+1=2 "god"...and also unknowable.... The knots people twist themselves into over this god business is beyond my understanding, entirely.
To me, this is awfully simple. If you've ruled out the spirits that inhabit the narratives of our ignorant past - you aren't an agnostic in any meaningful sense. Atheism, gnostic, agnostic, or otherwise...is not a position on the existence of alien life. It is not a position on the availability of knowledge-in-principle, in the general...or of the existence of truth.
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 26, 2016 at 11:19 am
Definition : Agnostic - A person who allows only one pet myth enough credibility to be called unknowable.
When I was a child I was told about Santa Claus. Soon enough I found out this was a myth. No one has argued that I could not absolutely disprove the existence of Santa. It is just a right of passage into adulthood.
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RE: What is the right definition of agnostic?
June 26, 2016 at 11:20 am
Someone who can't make up their damn mind.
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